1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to telephone paystations and more particularly to a security mechanism effective to prevent access and to capture unauthorized keys when they are utilized to attempt to secure access to the telephone paystation upper housing assembly.
2. Background Art
A substantial portion of both the deregulated and regulated paystation industry utilize instruments having housings of the type that have been manufactured for many years by such organizations as AT&T, GTE, and Palco Telecom. It has been generally found that such housings include adequate security measures. However, in some locations telephone companies, or other users, have found that the security of the upper housings of telephone units have become a problem. Companies which have high investments in upper housings and "smart" circuit cards included in the housings are frequently victimized by break-ins. A strong desire exists on the part of such companies, or their users, to protect their investment in the telephone instrument as well as the coinage that may have been deposited in the telephone instruments, and of course the included technology in the telephone instrument.
The typical paystation construction consists of an upper and lower housing. This is to provide separate sections for coin collection and maintenance. Typically, maintenance personnel are given keys to the upper housing while coin collection personnel receive keys for use to gain access to the lower housing. In a typical telephone company operation, the upper housing units are usually keyed alike to facilitate entry by repair personnel. The lower housings are key coded individually for coin box security. Therefore, keys for the lower housing are generally tightly controlled by the coin collection department. Because many keys are issued to the upper housing, and misplaced keys are often replaced easily, their availability to persons other than those authorized is quite common. The upper housing access, in some cases, is not well controlled. As a result of this situation, problems resulting from unauthorized entry of the upper housing are frequently incurred. These problems include vandalism, pay telephone circuit manipulation, fradulent unpaid calls, and loss of coins from the lower housing vault area occurred when they are fished out of the lower vault housing.
So called key grabber mechanisms were frequently employed in the old or three slot paystations in use throughout North America. These mechanisms contained a lock to effectively grap the key should it be inappropriate for access to the upper housing. The mechanism in this situation was a portion of the lock. Similar locks have not been employed in the single slot coin telephones now manufactured and which have become standard throughout the industry.